by Jackie Brett Send Me E-mail

Lake Las Vegas Resort will celebrate an inaugural performance at Nevada's most unique outdoor entertainment venue, a floating stage, with the premiere of "Stars on the Lake" with LeAnn Rimes on Saturday, July 3 at 9 p.m.

Tickets start at $39.95 plus tax for open lawn seating, reserved seats are $69.95 and a VIP seats are $100; call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Lake Las Vegas Resort constructed the 52-foot x 76-foot floating stage on the 320-acre manmade lake, which creates a natural outdoor amphitheater near MonteLago Village. At this one-of-a-kind outdoor venue, which is among the largest floating stages in the country and the only one in Nevada, guests will surround the shoreline and enjoy an unparalleled setting as Rimes fills the night with her Grammy-award winning music.

Rimes released her first album at the age of 11 and has recently launched her "This Woman" concert tour. During her show, Rimes treats fans with a "first listen" to many of the new tracks from her forthcoming (as-yet untitled) studio release along with her biggest hits.

Exclusive packages are available through The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas that include a pre-show cocktail reception and VIP seating, call 800-241-3333 or 702-567-4700.

The first phase of the Rio's $80 million transformation was recently completed with the re-opening of the new $10 million Carnival World Buffet in April 2004.

Extensive construction began on the Rio's porte cochere, front desk, lobby and Impanema bar areas in mid-May and is scheduled for completion in late August. The Rio's new entrance area will have a sleekly designed porte cochere and the lobby, front desk area and new Impanema Bar will feature a contemporary twist on traditional Art Deco design.

The Impanema lounge will have flair bartenders performing elaborate bottle routines around a 15-foot tall Fiber Optic and oil art piece that will light up to synchronize with music. In addition, an array of plasma screens will surround the interior perimeter of the bar featuring all the most popular sporting events during the day, and ambient images at night.

The contemporary American-themed All American Bar & Grill will be completely renovated and re-open in early September. Its new look will highlight upscale earth tones, rock, fire and water elements and have a state-of-the art sports lounge.

The $39 million expansion of the Rio's Pavilion Convention Center will add 60,000 square feet of convention space to the existing 100,000 square feet. With this expansion, and an estimated completion date of late fourth Quarter 2004, the facility will be able to accommodate up to 17,000 people at one time.

The Voodoo Café and Lounge will undergo a major remodel on the 50th and 51st floor outdoor patios. The construction will include the installation of an outdoor staircase connecting the two patios, and an aerial deejay platform and go-go platforms will be suspended between the two floors, creating an outdoor nightclub feel. The Voodoo Café and Lounge remodel will be completed in December 2004.

Steve Wynn announced last year that Wynn Las Vegas would open with a Ferrari and Maserati dealership. Now Caesars Palace has announced plans to open an exotic-car dealership on the property. The showroom, which will open in October, will market more than 50 rare automobiles, such as Bentleys, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris, including Ferrari's $1.3 million Enzo. Every car for sale will cost more than $100,000. The two-tiered, 26,000-square-foot dealership will be adjacent to the Atlantis rotunda in the Forum Shops at Caesars. In addition to the cars, there will be 4,000 square feet of retail space, selling luxury automobile merchandise.

The $175 million Hawaiian Marketplace is now open on the Strip in front of Polo Towers. The 80,000-square-foot island-style shopping center is a smaller version of the International Marketplace in Honolulu, with a Hawaiian-village-square theme with banyan and eucalyptus trees supporting a large canopy. Throughout the day animatronic birds sing Hawaiian songs in the Enchanted Garden.

During the month of June at the Rio, "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding," the longest running show in Broadway history, is offering free show admission to brides and grooms with June 2004 wedding licenses.

By presenting a June 2004 wedding license when signing-up for a free new Total Rewards Card at the Rio, newlyweds will receive two free tickets to see the hit show "Tony N' Tina's Wedding" at 7 p.m. in the Rio's Calypso Room. Tickets are $78.95 plus tax.

Tony n' Tina recently celebrated their third year of wedded bliss at the Rio by renewing their vows for five more years. "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" has played at the Rio since Jan. 31, 2002, and will remain a fixture in the Rio's Calypso room until February 2009. During their past three years at the Rio, Tony n' Tina have walked down the aisle more than 800 times in front of more than 200,000 guests.

The interactive show gives audiences a chance to attend an Italian-American wedding in which there is a ceremony, reception, guests and lots of improvisation. The most imaginative aspect of the show is its unpredictability.

"Tony n' Tina's Wedding," which has been a Broadway hit for more than 16 years, is the creation of the improvisational comedy troupe, "Artificial Intelligence."

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